Examining the association between connectedness to nature and mental health in adolescents

The Biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans inherently need nature for their mental well-being. Hence, the current contrast between natural environments and artificial urban settings may contribute to modern stress levels. Studies show that adolescents, who out of all the age groups feel the least connected to nature, are highly prone to mental health problems. However, research on the relationship between nature connectedness and mental health in adolescents remains scarce. This paper analyzed scores from the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in 214 adolescents (172 women, 39 men, 2 non-binaries, 1 genderqueer) between the age of 16-25, M = 20, to investigate the association between mental health and connectedness to nature. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a non-significant and negative relationship between adolescents’ mental health and their connectedness to nature. Although this finding contrasts with prior...Show moreThe Biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans inherently need nature for their mental well-being. Hence, the current contrast between natural environments and artificial urban settings may contribute to modern stress levels. Studies show that adolescents, who out of all the age groups feel the least connected to nature, are highly prone to mental health problems. However, research on the relationship between nature connectedness and mental health in adolescents remains scarce. This paper analyzed scores from the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in 214 adolescents (172 women, 39 men, 2 non-binaries, 1 genderqueer) between the age of 16-25, M = 20, to investigate the association between mental health and connectedness to nature. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a non-significant and negative relationship between adolescents’ mental health and their connectedness to nature. Although this finding contrasts with prior literature, the relationship seems to be more complex with other contextual factors that were not included in the study. CNS might positively impact mental health only as a moderator between mental well-being and exposure to green spaces, although this study did not test this moderating relationship. Possible influential factors include sensitivity to climate change at high CNS levels. Avenues for future research include studying connectedness to nature as a moderator in the relationship between exposure to green spaces and mental health as well as including contextual variables to inform nature-based therapies.Show less

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Examining the association between connectedness to nature and mental health in adolescents